Prague and Terezin

Leaving Berlin so early was a sad thing. I feel like I could have spent a week there and still barely scratch the surface of such a multifaceted place. But there is only so much time to spare and there was none left. It is a place I would enjoy returning to one day in the future.

The trip to Prague was excellent, he scenery in the Czech Republic, stunning. The rolling hills and lakes reminded me a lot of certain parts of the BC landscape. One of my favorite things to observe while I am traveling is the architecture and the differences in houses compared to home. Every town that we pass, the most noticeable structure is the church. You can see them from the highways with their large pointed bell towers looming over the little villages. I have yet to see a town anywhere along the way without one of these.

Also, the houses here are magnificent and depressing at the same time. Coming from a society that prides itself in structural upkeep, especially to the outside facade of the buildings, to see all these houses that have the paint peeling off, the stucco crumbling in parts as well as completely abandoned looking buildings all over is a bit of a shock. When you leave the downtown tourist areas you really see a difference in what is priority and what is not.

On the way to Prague we stopped at a place called Terezin. "Terezín was established at the end of the 18th century as a fortress; still surrounded by its massive ramparts, the town lies at the confluence of the rivers Labe (Elbe) and Ohře (Eger)." During the Nazi occupation the fortress was used as a holding place for political prisoners. It was not meant as a concentration camp though in my opinion it walked a fine line. Many of the people that were housed here were eventually sent to one of many concentrations camps, including Auschwitz. By the end of the second world war over 150 000 people have been through Terezin and 35 000 prisoners eventually died there as a result of stress, hunger, the atrocious accommodation and poor hygienic conditions. I will include a link below to the official Terezin website, it is interesting to read the history as well to be able to see an aerial picture of the area.

Now as for Prague. I have never been to a stranger place I do not think. It is hard to explain. I am not sure if it is because it is one of the few places that was not touched during the wars as it was Hitlers golden city or whether it is because it is Bohemia and the Bohemian influence has taken over all aspects. Either way, this place is just different.

I met some people from Australia the night I got in and we took a guided bike tour through the city the next day. Learning the history surrounding the Hussite wars, the World Wars and the Velvet Revolution made a huge difference in understanding the culture and heritage of this place. Czech people are very proud to be Czech. Walking down the streets you would think that every single brick and cobblestone would have it's own story to share about how it got there. Though it would be nice if they could tell me more practical things like what street I am on as reading Czech road signs and comparing to my map was nearly impossible. Apparently Czech is the fourth most difficult language in the world to learn with an alphabet of 40 letters and seven tenses (if I can add it is in the top five in my books for the most harsh to listen to as well. Czech is not pleasing to the ears at all.)

We started by watching the Astronomical Clock do it's performance as it does every hour on the hour. It was commissioned in 1410, designed and built by a man named Mikuláš of Kadaň. After it was completed the King decided it was so beautiful that he could not stand for this fellow to build anything like it again so he sent his men to burn his eyes out with hot metal. Before he died years later it is said he climbed to the top of the tower to render it nonoperational. It was so complicated that it took 60 years to fix and every 50 years or so it breaks down. The legend says that the clock is cursed and that anyone that tries to fix it will die shortly afterward. I have gotten the impression there are a great deal of gypsy 'stories' here.

Across from the main town there is a park on a hill that overlooks the skyline. This used to be the home of the worlds largest statue of Stalin (30m high) but in 1961 they strapped a truck load of dynamite to it and blew it up. In the early 90's they commissioned an art piece to be placed there and of course the only logical thing was erected: the worlds largest functional metronome. I really think they do too much Absinthe here.

On the other side of town is a tv tower similar to the one in Berlin. One major difference though, this one has a bunch of giant black coloured, faceless,cement babies crawling up and down it. These babies were another art project by the Metronome fellow. When he made them, there were not only the ones on the tower but other ones spread across the city on the ground. Every night he would have them moved 22 meters towards 'home', so every morning the babies were in a different place. In a town where Absinthe and Marijuana are legal I can only imagine the massive paranoia this project probably created.

Other than the oddities, Prague is stunning. Being one of the only places spared from the wars the buildings have a character that is unlike anywhere else in the world. It lives up to it's name as the town of spires. Overlooking the city from the Metronome platform you can see the spires shooting up across the skyline. Many of them have golden balls or gold plating incorporated into them and they reflect the light from coming off the river and from the sun. It was impossible to take pictures of everything I wanted to, it would have been easier to just video the entire place.

I have been fortunate to have been able to include these places in the more eastern parts of Europe, the feeling is completely different from the West. I am looking forward to the next week as I travel through Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. These places will be very a very special part of my journey. I wish I could go farther East but am not prepared to do so on this trip. For now I will enjoy the places I have been fortunate enough to see and save the dreaming of future adventures for when I return home in October.

Terezin Information Website

Terezin Pictures

Prague Pictures